At 10:00 pm on Tuesday, 30 October, for the second time in as many weeks, South Dakota will kill a man. State officials are set to execute Donald Moeller for the 1990 murder of Becky O’Connell at the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls in the name of the State of South Dakota. Not, however, in the name of all South Dakotans.

A coalition led by the South Dakota Peace & Justice Center (SDPJC), Pax Christi, and South Dakotans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (SDADP) will be holding a vigil for Moeller’s execution outside the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. The vigil is set to begin at 8:00 pm at the base of the penitentiary flagpole on North Drive, and you are invited to join us.

The prayerful, nonviolent gathering will be a time for song, a time for silent reflection, and a time for solidarity with all victims of violence and respect for life in all its forms. Participants are asked to bring lawnchairs and wind-proof candles, and to dress warmly.

If you are unable to make it to Sioux Falls on Tuesday night, please let us know if you would like to and are able to hold a solidarity vigil in your hometown.

(ChattahBox)—The 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, convicted of arson and the deaths of his three little girls, continues to haunt Gov. Rick Perry, the prosecutors and investigators responsible for Willingham’s conviction, because many national arson experts are convinced he was wrongly convicted. That means that the State of Texas, under the authority of Gov. Perry, may have executed an innocent man.

Now, Gov. Perry is under fire for allegedly attempting to block any further investigation into the Willingham case by a state commission, by firing the head of the commission right before the hearing was to take place.

Besides the fact that an innocent man may have been executed (Texas is famous for this), I have often been against capital punishment because many people put to the death haven’t been given the opportunity to prove their innocence. Trust me, if you are caught with the bloody candlestick in the billard room, you are screwed, but Mr. Willingham’s story is a prime example of a failed justice system. This story will get more interesting as it unfolds. It’s one thing to execute an innocent man, but when you know he may be innocent then try to cover it up you are a pretty freaking disgusting human being, of course this is the same governor that wants Texas to secede. Good Riddance.